Overview
Real Betis have gone through 5 matches in La Liga this season with a relatively stable start but have not been really impressive. They have 1 win, 3 draws and 1 loss, bringing home 6 points, temporarily ranking 10th on the rankings.
Coach Manuel Pellegrini's team started with a 1-1 draw with Elche, before defeating Alaves 1-0 at home. However, they were then held to a draw by Celta Vigo, then lost to Athletic Bilbao right at Benito Villamarin before the September international break.
Betis then only got a 2-2 draw with Levante last weekend. Notably, in this match, Los Verdiblancos had to come back after falling 2 goals behind.
Next week, Real Betis will kick off their Europa League group stage campaign with a clash with Nottingham Forest. And they certainly want to go into that game with a positive result.
Last season, this team beat Real Sociedad 3-0 at home. However, in reality, Betis have only won 1 of their last 5 encounters with the Basque opponent in La Liga.
Real Sociedad can draw many positives from their performance against Real Madrid in the most recent round. However, the 1-2 defeat at the Bernabeu extended their streak of consecutive losses in La Liga, while pushing the Basque team down to 17th place in the rankings.
La Real started the season with a 1-1 draw with Valencia, followed by a 2-2 draw with Espanyol. However, they quickly declined when they lost to Real Oviedo and Real Madrid respectively.
Last season, Sociedad finished in 11th place in La Liga - their lowest tally since 2017-2018. The signs at the beginning of this season are also suggesting another difficult campaign for Imanol Alguacil and his team.
In the history of the confrontation, Sociedad have faced Real Betis 118 times in all competitions. They are slightly better with 46 wins, while Betis have won 41 and the remaining 31 matches ended unmatched.
Mikel Oyarzabal, who scored six goals against Betis in his career, will continue to be Sociedad's biggest hope. He will aim to inspire the away team to win all 3 points in this trip.
Personnel situation
Real Betis will definitely not have the service of Isco due to injury, while Nobel Mendy, Marc Bartra, Ricardo Rodriguez and Aitor Ruibal are still doubtful to play.
Giovani Lo Celso is likely to take on the No. 10 role, while Antony could also feature from the start on the right wing. Pablo Fornals are expected to continue playing slightly lower in midfield, while Cucho Hernandez will keep the center forward position.
On Real Sociedad's side, Yangel Herrera continues to be absent due to a muscle injury. Orri Oskarsson, Luka Sucic and Brais Mendez all need to undergo physical tests before the match.
Sergio Francisco may not change too much after his efforts against Real Madrid, but the possibility of him bringing Takefusa Kubo back to the track must be quite high.
Oyarzabal is certainly Sociedad's biggest hope in attack. The Spanish star will start with the goal of continuing to improve his scoring achievements, thereby getting closer to the second position in the list of the greatest strikers in the club's history.
Expected lineup:
Real Betis: Valles, Bellerin, Natan, Gomez, Firpo, Fornals, Altimira, Antony, Lo Celso, Riquelme, Hernandez.
Real Sociedad: Remiro, Elustondo, Zubeldia, Caleta-Car, Gomez, Goti, Gorrotxategi, Marin, Kubo, Oyarzabal, Barrenetxea.
The match between Real Betis and Real Sociedad takes place at 2:00 am on September 20 (Vietnam time).
